Strong Currents
by Nev827
Summary: Castle is beaten, captured, and thrown into a pool to drown.  Will Beckett arrive in time to save him?
1. Chapter 1

_Just a little one shot that I was inspired to write not too long ago. I hope you enjoy it._

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><p>Castle awoke and smelled something odd. Odder still, was the hard surface he realized he was laying on. Cement, maybe, he wondered, or concrete. He tried to roll onto his side from his back, but his ribs screamed in pain from the beating he had taken. He managed to roll to his right and curl up into the fetal position. With his eyes clenched tight in pain, he smelled the air to get some sense of where he was.<p>

Chlorine.

It smelled like the pool at his health club with the chlorine scent and steamy air from the constant water temperature of 80 degrees. He opened his eyes and his suspicions were confirmed. He was in a spacious indoor pool area looking down the pool's length rather than its width. There were no chairs, no towels, no lifeguard tower, no floatation devices, nothing that indicated that anyone spent much time relaxing at this pool. A large industrial lamp hung from the ceiling and was the only source of light. Outside he could see it was dark, but because of the steam on the glass panes that made up the walls, he couldn't make out any other forms that would give him a clue as to his location.

He tried to get his legs under him, but his muscles again lit up with pain. He felt like he'd filled in for a punching bag at a boxing ring, with every inch of his skin bruised and all his muscles aching with fatigue.

As he groaned, he heard a lock disengage and a door slide open behind him. The sound of solid footsteps came closer. A large hand gripped each of his armpits, hauling him into a standing position. He gasped in pain momentarily then controlled himself to try to present a strong front. Whoever these men were, they obviously weren't interested in his latest Nikki Heat book and he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of knowing he was incapable of fighting back.

He knew that, once she found him, the fight would be a battle royal.

"The boss told you and that pig cop to keep your fat noses out of Johanna Beckett's murder case." The man holding him up growled into his ear from behind. Clever, Castle thought. I can't see him now, so I can't identify him later in a lineup. He also realized that, since he couldn't make out the bottom of the pool, he was facing the deep end.

"Funny. I've never been too big on following directions. Johanna's daughter will testify to that."

"Speaking of her daughter, she doesn't realize that we've honed into her location using a GPS tracker we snuck onto her phone. She's miles away from here, so don't be thinking she's gonna come to your rescue." The man lifted Castle to shift him so that his toes stood on the pool's edge.

"It doesn't matter if you kill me or not. You'll never outrun her. Never." Castle said defiantly.

"Once you're a wet heap at the bottom of that pool, we won't have to worry about outrunning her. Because she'll be right down there with you. See, Mr. Castle, you're our bait to get rid of her. Kill two birds with one stone, as they say. Why don't we get started."

The man leaned forward slightly as he released his hold on Castle's arms, which, due to the pain he knew would shoot through him, he let hang at his sides as his body pitched forward into the water.

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><p>Though his muscles were unbearably sore, he pushed for the surface. He looked around, but his captor was gone. He turned himself in the water, treading as best he could, and searched the rest of the glass enclosure. He saw nothing, except the concrete deck extending endlessly into the faint darkness.<p>

He turned himself around again and almost went under, but fought to keep afloat. His legs were on fire now and for a brief moment he entertained the idea of letting himself sink to rest his aching limbs, but changed his mind. If he could find a ladder or some easy means of climbing out, he could rest on the deck. Hovering close to the wall from which he had fallen, he noticed what looked like recessed tiles just under the water line. He reached out and felt them, pushing gently in case they unlocked some secret escape, but nothing happened.

He inhaled deeply and let himself go under for a closer look. He tapped and pushed in various places, but the tiles stayed still as if to mock him. With his lungs screaming for air, he rose, but found he barely had the energy to lift his face out of the water. As a primal fear for survival gripped him, adrenaline gave him the boost he needed to throw his head backwards and gasp for breath.

As Castle's face barely hung above the water line, Castle's captor stood in a small control room just off the pool area watching Castle's struggles on a bank of video monitors fed by hidden camera strategically placed around the pool. He chuckled and smiled in satisfaction as the famous, cocky author lifted a hand above the surface, but gripping nothing but air, went under again.

As he floated and desperately tried to conceive of a plan to save himself, Castle saw what looked like a ladder mounted into the left wall midway between his end and the opposite end. Knowing it was his only chance, he kicked and paddled with his arms as best he could. His body rose to the surface and he swum clumsily, trying to find a balance between gentle paddling and desperate breathing. Finally, he flipped himself on his back and felt the top the top of his head gently strike the ladder.

"Uh, uh, uh," the Captor said to himself quietly in a sing-song voice. "Naughty, naughty, Mr. Castle." He pressed a button and saw a green light brighten on a small control panel in front of him.

Castle flipped himself over, fell under for a second or two, but managed to grip the curved steel sides of the ladder. He set his feet on the bottom rung, and pulled himself out, groaning with effort, as his wet clothes and injuries made him feel twenty pounds heavier. He relaxed as he lifted his left foot to step onto the top rung.

Suddenly and instantaneously, all the nerves in his leg screamed, his already overtaxed muscles went taut and a burning sensation traveled quickly up his leg and into the rest of his body. He lost all control of his limbs and felt himself falling backwards. He heard a splash and was under water again, but this time his arms and legs wouldn't obey his brain's commands to push to the surface and save himself. He felt as if his hands and ankles were bound with heavy rope. Every move he tried to make upwards resulted in no progress. He finally held still, hoping that his body's natural buoyancy would help him rise. As his head broke the surface, he inhaled deeply and loudly, but found his limbs still paralyzed, so he sank again. As the feeling in his extremities began to return faintly, he fought to stay above water, alternately rising long enough to inhale then falling under. His hands flapped on the surface, searching for something to hold onto, but found nothing. He bobbed like a cork, thinking how ironic it was that he had survived drowning in a sinking car where the chances of escape were minimal, but wouldn't do the same in a swimming pool. Resigned to his fate, he closed his eyes and let the water cover him.

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><p>"Fight."<p>

The single word echoed through his mind in a voice that wasn't his own. He opened his eyes as he hung limply in his wet, suffocating prison and his heart jumped as her face swam into his thoughts.

"Fight, Castle. I'm coming. You have to hold on. Keep fighting"

It was Kate, urging him not to give up. For a moment, he thought he saw her body swim up to him, take hold of his face in her hands, then disappear. With the last ounce of energy he had, he kicked to push himself upwards and found air. Before he could sink again, he rolled onto his back to float in the middle of the pool and rest himself as best he could. To wait for her.

"I'm here Kate. I won't give up." He muttered to himself.

His Captor was surprised as he watched the drama unfold before him, but far from defeated. He reached over to the control panel, pressed another button, and a yellow light blinked on.

As Castle lay on the water, he heard a faint whirring sound, as if machinery had been turned on, and felt the currents in the pool change. He fell out of his floating posture to tread water and noticed something at both ends of the pool pulsing back and forth out of the wall just under the water line. Then a shallow wave slapped him in the face. He spit out water as another hit him in his opposite side. Curious, he ducked under and saw the recessed tiles he had noted earlier moving back and forth, in and out.

Waves. The panels were creating a wave pool.

He fought harder than ever now to stay up. The waves began slowly increasing in size and the currents battered him as if he was a toy boat on the rough open sea. Treading water was useless. Just as he would gather a breath, the energy from what seemed like a wall of water would knock it out of him and the trough would pull him under.

As he floated, exhausted in the swirling currents, he heard a sharp pop from above, muffled yelling noises then another series of pops. He let himself rise on another wave. In the second or two he was above water, he saw his Captor sprint towards the sliding door through which he must have entered earlier, holding something in his hand. Another wave covered him and as he sank, he heard more pops.

A gun fight. The man was defending himself from someone. Castle's hopes soared at the thought that it could be the NYPD and Kate, but were dashed when he realized it could be the man's boss come to tie off a lose end.

Regardless, he stretched up a hand hoping someone would take notice of his predicament despite the flying bullets. Desperate for air, he clawed his way upwards only to have another large wave knock him down.

This was it. He was completely spent and felt that he only had enough energy left for one more push to the surface, one more look at the life he was about to leave. He kicked and rose, but could only keep his face above the swirling waterline. He gasped for breath, but only inhaled water. He tried to speak, but his words were doused and came out as gurgles. Through the splashes that hit his face, he saw the silhouette of a woman burst through the sliding door.

It was her. She stopped dead just inside and her eyes met his just before two large waves crashed together and washed over him.

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><p>She watched his head slowly disappear then a hand reach up. Then nothing.<p>

She didn't remember tossing her gun aside or stripping off her coat. She just remembered running towards the pool and diving in head first. His waterlogged form hung in the middle far away from the walls that would have been his salvation. His eyes were closed and not a muscle of his twitched except that which was impacted by the currents. She took his face in her hands, covered his mouth with her own and pushed air into his lungs. His eyes blinked open and she pulled him up.

On the surface, she held him to keep him from going down. They stared into each other's eyes with relief, with surprise, with joy and with love. She helped him to the side of the pool, boosted herself out then helped him. He flopped down on the hard surface and she sat next to him, her face hovering over his. Both breathed heavily and glorified in the relief that they were both alive.

"He's dead. We found him and killed him, so don't worry." She explained.

Panic drained out of him. He nodded then looked deep into her eyes as he had when they had floated in the middle of the pool minutes before. Though it hurt his exhausted arms, he reached out and stroked her cheek tenderly.

"You're not a mirage are you?" He asked. "I saw a mirage of you earlier and if you're a mirage, you're not only the most timely, but the most beautiful mirage I've ever seen."

She turned her cheek into his hand and brought her own hand up to cover his. "I'm not a mirage, Castle. I'm the real thing."

"How do I know you're not a mirage telling me that?"

Her eyes lit up with playfulness and she made a split-second decision to ignore the possibility that her colleagues could be watching and would turn the moment into an everlasting source of amusement and embarrassment.

"Because mirages can't do this." She leaned down and sealed her lips to his, letting the currents of passion envelop them both.


	2. Chapter 2

_Ok, so I had planned to keep this story a one-shot. But I was inspired to continue it for a bit, so here is chapter 2. Enjoy._

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><p>"Huh?" Castle snorted awake, having been startled from his nap by a thumping on the front door of his Hamptons home. On the advice of his doctor and his friends in the NYPD, he had retreated north from the city, with prescription pain killers and weekend travel bag in hand, to recover from his recent ordeal. He had arrived at the house that morning, then after getting himself settled, had taken one of the pain killers and fallen asleep on the couch with the latest James Patterson book spread out of his lap.<p>

As he worked to unfuzz his brain and climbed off the couch, he tried to remember if he was expecting company. Alexis had joined some friends and very responsible parents for a cruise to the Caribbean for Spring Break and he imagined his mother was celebrating the same occasion in her own unique way, one that made his stomach twist. So he couldn't imagine who would be visiting him.

Unless…

He searched the vestibule for anything that could be used as a weapon, and finally settled on a garishly-colored umbrella that could only have been his mother's. Holding it by its handle, he lifted it up and behind himself in his best imitation of a major league baseball player awaiting a pitch, and pulled the door open with his free hand.

"Kate!" He exclaimed and immediately let the girly umbrella slip down his hand and behind his back. However, the trained detective's eyes were too quick.

"Expecting rain, Castle?" Beckett teased.

"Uh…no, actually. Just…I wasn't expecting company, so I thought…maybe someone was coming after me again. Sorry."

She hadn't thought of that. The smirk left Beckett's face and she nodded knowingly. "Don't worry about it. And I'm sorry to make light of what happened."

"No worries."

They stood there for a long, lingering moment, not sure what to say each other. In the couple days between his rescue and his leaving that morning, they hadn't talked about the kiss they'd shared after his rescue, mainly because he'd spent most of the intervening time in the hospital and she'd spent it at the precinct closing the case. But a small part of the reason was because both knew something in their relationship had shifted in a much more visceral way than when they'd faced death previously. It felt like a small dam had burst forth, threatening a larger one downstream which they both struggled to hold in place. And both wondered, unbeknownst to the other, why bother with protecting the second dam at all. They each were just looking for the right time to seize the moment.

"Oh, hey! Sorry. Come in. Come in." Castle finally said, realizing his manners. Beckett entered the vestibule, pulling a small suitcase on wheels behind her.

"Going to your Dad's cabin for some time off?" Castle said, this time remembering to be a gentleman and taking the handle from Beckett to drag the suitcase himself into the house's main living room. His hand had brushed hers in the transfer, resulting in her cheeks becoming slightly flushed. They deepened as she built up the courage to confess why she had come.

"No, actually. I…I hope it's not an intrusion, but apparently so many people have been complaining to the brass about not being able to use their overtime lately, so Captain Gates put it out that if we have any we want to use before the summer hits and things get busy, we'd better use it now, so…I took off until Monday. And…I wanted to see how you were doing."

That warm smile that turned Beckett's insides to butter and her knees to jelly slowly bloomed on Castle's face. "Why that's very sweet of you, Detective." He took a step closer to her, threatening to crowd her in her personal space.

Beckett raised an eyebrow in curiosity and to test the waters of flirtation a bit. "Detective? We work together for years, know each other's families, have visited each other's houses and saved each other's lives several times and you're still calling me Detective?" She inched closer to him now, figuring two could play at this game. She was also surprised at how easy and natural the heat seemed to flow between them.

"If I remember correctly, the last time you saved my life, you did more than just pull me out of a swimming pool." His voice grew quieter and his entire face softened as he inched still closer to her, leaving mere inches between their chests. Sensing he wouldn't get a better chance, Castle lifted a hand to trail his fingertips tenderly across Beckett's cheek and down to her jawline. Her eyes fluttered closed as adrenaline spiked and shot from her head down to her toes at record speed. She leaned into his hand and lifted her own to cover his then her eyes met his. "What would you like me to call you, Detective Beckett?" He whispered, his voice gentle and with an undeniable husk in it.

Wife, was the first word that popped into her head before she could regain her sanity. No, not that kind of partner, she thought. Calm down. Girlfriend, maybe? Get a hold of yourself, she ordered. Small moves, Kate.

But how could she calm down when he was so close, looking at her with so much desire, happiness and – what was it also? Love? Could there also be love there? Her heart leapt at the prospect. And there was only one way to find out.

"Call me Kate. Just Kate." She breathed, and unable to stop herself, she closed the distance between them and kissed him slow and deep.

Her arms wrapped around his waist so her hands could run over his broad back. His hand that had been stroking her cheek snaked around to the back of her neck and made its way through her hair while his other arm held her close at her waist. They kept things gentle, but passionate and simply enjoyed the quiet and the feeling, smell, and taste of each other. Sensing the need for both of them to breath, Beckett gave Castle's lower lip one last strong caress that elicited a moan then broke the contact. They stood in silence for a minute or so, foreheads touching, arms around each other, chests heaving to refill their lungs. When her heart rate finally stabilized, she cocked her head slightly to look at him.

"I'm guessing that means that you don't mind if I stay?" She asked and couldn't contain a small laugh.

"You're always welcome…Kate. Always." Castle replied. His use of her first name and their personal catch-word sent another jolt through Beckett's veins.

"Thanks. Now, if you don't mind, I think I'm gonna get myself settled. Maybe change clothes."

Until Kate had brought up staying then coyly mentioned changing clothes, Castle had worried that she'd retreat into herself after their kiss. As confident as she was at work, she was much shyer and less certain of herself when it came to relationships, so he worked hard at not pushing her.

"Sounds like a plan. The guest room is upstairs to the right. Second door on your left."

"Thanks."

As she picked up her suitcase and turned for the stairs, he made a snap decision and reached out and took her free hand.

"Kate?"

"Rick?" She smiled.

"I know this will sound presumptuous and dirty-old-man-ish, but did you bring something to swim in?"

Where was he going with this, Kate wondered? Of course she had brought a one piece and a couple bikinis. After all, it was the Hamptons and she knew his house overlooked the beach. Still, if he had wanted a swim, he could have just suggested she join him in the pool. But she could see in his eyes that he had an altogether different idea.

"Of course," she answered. "Your house does back up to the beach."

"True. But there's something else I want to show you."


	3. Chapter 3

Kate changed into one of her bikinis, a black one with a sporty top that tied together at the front and a matching high cut bottom that tied together at her hips, threw sweat shorts and an NYPD t-shirt over the swim wear, slipped into a pair of flip-flops and met Castle, as per his request, on the house's spacious back deck. He passed her a towel and she blushed again as he took her right hand in his left. He had also changed into navy swim trunks and had slipped a white v-neck t-shirt over his broad chest, which became that much more noticeable since he wasn't wearing one of the button-downs in which Kate was used to seeing him. His eyes were alight with happiness and playfulness.

Castle led her off the deck and onto a brick path that trailed a course down the sloping hill on the back of his property which ended with a beautiful stretch of private beach. They reached a fork in the path and instead of continuing straight to the beach, Castle pulled Kate to their left where the path disappeared inside a dense copse of trees ringed by a low stone wall and nestled at the bottom of a sharp drop off under the deck of the house's pool. Kate's heart picked up its pace as she wondered what surprise Castle had planned.

Just outside the tree line, he stopped and turned to her.

"Close your eyes, Kate."

"Castle – err, Rick," she corrected herself, and let the warm feeling brought on by the fact that they were both now using first each other's first names spread through her, "you better not be planning something that's going to make me regret leaving my gun in the house." She teased.

"Trust me, Kate. You will not regret any of what you're about to see. Now close your eyes." To help her, he gently used his thumb to bring her upper eyelids down. "No peeking." He took both her hands in his and gently pulled her forward several steps before stopping her. Her nose immediately caught the smell of flowers and her ears picked up on the gentle lapping of water, as if someone had stuck a finger or a toe in a calm lake to test the temperature. She then sensed his coming around behind her and leaning in to whisper in her ear.

"Now open your eyes."

What she saw was like a miniature Garden of Eden. In front of her was a pool of water roughly circular in shape and around four feet in diameter surrounded by the short wall she'd spied earlier. All around her were flowered plants of varying colors and fragrant trees set just far enough apart to afford a view of the ocean, but to also give the pool's occupants a good measure of privacy.

"This is beautiful, Rick. Just beautiful." To cover the fact that the scene had taken her breath away, she deeply inhaled the sweet fragrance of flowers and smiled contentedly.

"Thanks. But I can't take all the credit. The pool is actually a natural warm spring. It's one reason I bought this particular plot of land – no need to put in a hot tub." He explained.

"Hmmm," Kate thought, and imagined Rick skinny-dipping by moonlight with a big-busted blonde bimbo. "Knowing you as I do, I can see how that'd be an attraction."

Rick's face went from proud and playful to serious so quickly it actually unnerved Kate. Oh no, she thought. I had only meant to tease him, not to hit below the belt. Dang it. But her concerns were dashed when he took her hands in his again, just as he'd done to lead her into this secluded place that he obviously wanted to share with her for a reason.

"It's not like _that_, Kate. I swear to you, the only women that I've brought here are Alexis, mother, and Gina and Gina didn't even swim. She only stuck her feet in. I created this special place only for very special people, of which you're one." His eyes searched hers, waiting and pleading.

She was almost there, but there was one more hurdle she had to be he was alright with trying to overcome. "I don't know what to say, Rick. Except, and I don't want this to kill the mood, but you almost drowned a few days ago. Are you sure you're comfortable with doing something water-related?"

He smiled and Kate could see a weight lift off his shoulders. "First of all, after that kiss up at the house, my mind isn't thinking only of water-related activities, and second, it's only about four feet deep, so unless you plan on getting really rough with me," the husk returned to his voice, "I think we're both safe."

"Oh you think so, do you?" Kate said and slipped her hands under his t-shirt, pulling him closer to her. She ran her hands up his back, feeling every rise and fall of his skin over toned muscles. She let her mouth hover inches from his and her eyes flicked between his wet lips and his deep eyes. She helped him pull the shirt over his head and tossed it aside.

"I never told you, but I like it rough." She skimmed her hands over his chest, flicked the tip of his nose with her finger then turned on her heel to slip off her flip-flops. She only managed to remove one before his hand grabbed her by the forearm and yanked her back against him.

He lifted her arms over head then trailed his fingers back down to the hem of her t-shirt. He softly pulled it over her head and tossed it aside to lay with his own shirt. Taking her wrists, he brought her arms back down then pinned them behind her. As he pressed soft kisses to her shoulder, throat and jawline, he slipped her shorts over her hips and let them slide down her legs. Once she had kicked her feet free and he had found his way to her lips, she pulled back.

"Kate, are you sure this is what you want?" He asked. She had never seen such sincerity in his face or heard it in his voice. "Not to say it isn't what I want. Far from it, in fact, it's just that…we hadn't even kissed for real as of a few days ago and now…All I'm saying is…"

"I know." Kate interrupted. "It's like things are different now."

"Yeah. But a good different, extraordinarily good."

"Yeah." She agreed, breathlessly sensing that this was the moment both of them had been waiting for since she had pulled him out of the pool after watching him nearly drown.

He paused, knowing there was no way around his next question. "Do you want them to be, Kate? Honestly?"

"Honestly," she leaned in to touch her forehead to his. Her insides felt like a sea of pond frogs were jumping on the trampoline that was her stomach, but she was tired of keeping her feelings to herself. "There's little I want more."

Though they were standing inches apart, they flew together, arms locked around each other, hands searching, caressing, stroking, mouths hot and needy and willing. When they separated with cheeks flushed and lungs gulping air, their eyes met again and both of them grinned.

"I take it you agree with me?" Kate said playfully.

"Oh yeah," Rick answered. "Different is good."

"Extraordinarily good." She laughed and he followed. They still held each other and ran fingers through the others hair. Kate glanced at the pool of warm water that she practically forgot was behind her and her eyes darkened.

"Now that that's settled, let's go swimming."


	4. Chapter 4

_This is most likely the final chapter to this story. And please notice I have changed the rating to M, mostly because of this chapter. Yes, this is the payoff for all you Caskett fans. _

_One additional note: The idea of Yurtle the Thermometer Turtle came from a thermometer my parents have in their pool. I thought he would fit in nicely with Castle's playful personality.  
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_Lastly, thank you to everyone who reviewed or alerted this story. I got more story alerts on this than I have on any story I've written in a long time. I very much appreciate it. Enjoy!  
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><p>Rick slipped off his own sandals as Kate stuck a toe in the water to test its temperature.<p>

"Oh, wow. The water feels great. Really warm."

"It should. The temperature typically doesn't fluctuate too much, but let's ask Yurtle just for kicks."

"Yurtle?"

Castle walked over to the grey brick wall built into the side of the hill that represented the drop off Kate had seen earlier. He craned an arm around a tree and pulled out a yellow thermometer with what looked like a turtle mounted on its top. He held it up so she could see and bowed slightly as he made an introduction.

"Kate, Yurtle. Yurtle, Kate." And with that, he dropped the device in. The turtle, Yurtle, mounted on its top, caused it to float on the surface and to provide, what Kate guessed, was a pretty accurate temperature since the thermometer itself would be submerged.

Both of them watched it float for several seconds, until Kate got the feeling that she was being watched. She looked over at Rick, now kneeling a few feet away by the water's edge and found his eyes roaming over her body, not in a creepy, leery way, but one that telegraphed both respect and desire.

She blushed for what felt like the tenth time that day then noticed that Yurtle had floated to the middle of the pool where Rick was unlikely to reach him to pull him out and read his temperature.

"Uh oh, it looks like Yurtle is making a break for it." She said.

Rick tore his eyes away from gazing at Kate's beautiful body and saw she was right. "Oh yeah," he replied, smiling sheepishly. "I guess one of us will have to go in after him."

"No worries, Rick. I got this one." And before he could answer or try to stop her, she bent down, gripped the edge with one hand, and hopped over the side to submerge herself completely.

The water felt so warm, heavenly so, that she let herself hover on the bottom for several seconds so her muscles could soak in the feeling. Now totally relaxed, she noticed Yurtle's thermometer bobbing an arm's length away and reached out to grip it then rose.

"Yurtle says the water is a balmy eighty-two degrees, Mr. Castle." Kate reported and raised both eyebrows invitingly. She planted her feet on the bottom to take a position that was almost challenging. "What do you plan to do with this newfound knowledge?"

Rick practically did a cannon ball into the pool, further dousing Kate with water. When she'd jumped in so spontaneously, his heart jumped since it was a side of her that he so rarely saw and also found to be highly attractive. But when she submerged completely then popped back up with her long brown hair, not to mention her bikini, soaked and clingy, he almost coughed in an effort to restore his heart to its normal rhythm. So when she waggled her eyebrows at him, he couldn't get into the pool to be with her, near her, with his arms wrapped around her fast enough.

For her part, Kate merely swiped a hand over her face to clear away the splash and chuckled, recognizing that it was just Rick's kid-who-never-grew-up side coming out to play. Her laughter was quickly chased away by a gasp, when she felt his tongue tickle her stomach just above the waist band of her bikini bottom. She rested her hands on his shoulders for balance, as he rose to work his mouth over her torso. When he reached the valley between her breasts, he stopped.

"What am I going to do, you ask?" His voice was dark and heavy and breathless. "Love you. Period."

As Kate's heart simultaneously melted and accelerated its rhythm, he began slowly to untie the strings holding her top together. When it parted, he slid the straps down her arms and tossed the top carelessly over his shoulder. He resumed his kissing and laving, attending to each breast until Kate's legs felt like jelly, and working his way to her neck then finally to her warm, wet, eager mouth. His arms pulled her flush against him and hers wrapped around his neck.

Never had either of them experienced a kiss such as the one they shared. The dam had officially broken and both let their fears and worries be washed away. They lost themselves in the swirling current of emotions flowing through both of them, perfectly content to drown in each other's touch.

Rick tore his mouth from hers and traced his way along Kate's jawline to the soft spot on her neck where he could feel the blood racing through her veins. Kate's head rolled back and she moaned in pleasure. Rick's hands wandered down to her hips where he pulled her even tighter to him. Knowing what he was after, Kate lifted each leg to wrap around Rick's waist. With his hands under her posterior, he lowered both of them deeper until the water ran over their shoulders.

It was his turn to moan when Kate ran her tongue over his ear then nibbled it thoroughly. The sensation of having her mouth and hands on him and from the luxurious feel of the naturally heated water flowing all around them and caressing their skin simultaneously energized and soothed him. Finally, Kate took his face in her hands and pulled back slightly.

"I want you, Rick. So much," she panted as her eyes locked onto his. "And not just in a sexual way, but in every way. I think I always have, but until I saw you almost drown in that pool, I was fine with burying my feelings. I'm not anymore."

"And to think for the past three days I thought you kissed me because of my ruggedly handsome face and my charm."

"Well, there is that," Kate agreed. "I was so afraid I was too late. That after cheating death so many times, it had finally gotten to you. And I wasn't gonna lose you without a fight. I don't ever want to lose you."

A trickle of water slowly worked its way from the corner of Kate's eye and down her cheek. Whether it came from the pool or from her tear ducts, Rick didn't know, but he used the pad of his thumb to wipe it away.

"You will never lose me, Kate. I promise. I'm too in love with you."

"Likewise."

"You're in love with yourself?" He teased, earning an eye roll and a splash in the face.

"You know what I mean, Romeo. Now knock it off."

The aggression in her voice had his blood thrumming again and he dipped his hand lower in the water to one of the strings holding together her bikini bottom. "I don't know about knocking it off, but I'd sure like to take it off."

"Be my guest, but fair's fair," she breathed against his mouth and reached down to tug at the knot in the waist band of his swim trunks. When he had sufficiently loosened her bikini bottom, she scooted back from him slightly and worked it down her thighs until it hung off the toes of one of her feet. Slowly, seductively, she lifted the foot out of the water and tossed the suit over her head. Meanwhile, he had shimmied out of his trunks which quickly came to rest around the pool's edge with their other discarded garments.

Before Kate could lower her leg, Rick caught her ankle in his hand and began kissing his way up the inside of her calf to her inside thigh. He went under and found Kate's most sensitive spot, causing her to throw her head backwards in ecstasy. She was so paralyzed with pleasure that she was helpless when he pulled her down to join him.

Maneuvering in the pool and which was somewhat shallow and shorter in diameter than both of their bodies were in length was a little challenging, but it hardly became an issue since their mutual desire to be together was so strong. Kate wrapped her legs around Rick's waist and he braced his knees on the bottom, so he knelt over Kate, ravishing her body with kisses and touches. When she was out of breath, she pushed him off her and floated to the surface, inhaling deeply when she came up. He lifted himself out and caught his breath as well.

When both of them had filled their lungs sufficiently to be able to talk, Kate took Rick in her arms again.

"That was amazing," she whispered over his shoulder.

"Why thank you, Kate," he responded, not bothering to disguise his smile.

"I love you, Rick. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."

"What matters is that you're saying it now."

"I know, but-"

"Shhh," he interrupted and put a finger to her lips. "Don't stress about it. Let's just enjoy the moment. We can talk details later. Agreed?"

Kate dropped her eyes in thought for a moment only to have Rick lift her chin up with a gentle nudge of his finger. He then took her face in his hands and saw the tension in her eyes, brow, and shoulders melt away. Her grin lit him up inside.

"Agreed."

"Good. Now come to Papa."

She smiled fully as his lips met hers in a long, slow, languid kiss. As their tongues met and the kiss deepened, she pulled him closer to run a hand through his thick hair. He dropped his hands from her face to knead her breasts and her breath hitched. When satisfied, he let his fingers trail down her sides to her hips. None of her previous lovers had ever given her such pleasure with such a simple touch. She surrendered to the feeling. And to the need for him.

Under the water, he shifted her legs so she sat in his lap and his legs extended behind her. As before, only everything above their shoulders was visible above the waterline, but to heighten the experience, both would alternate slipping under to pleasure the other or to tickle by blowing bubbles against hypersensitive skin.

Unable to control themselves any longer as they rocked, wrapped in each other, in the liquid warmth, they answered their own unspoken pleas and mated.

* * *

><p>Hours later they cuddled on the beach, blissfully content and fatigued, wrapped in thick towels.<p>

"This has been a perfect day, Kate." Rick said.

"It has been, hasn't it?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

They kissed tenderly and dozed off as the gentle, clean breeze washed over them.


End file.
